Lyrl's recent activity
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Comment on US President Donald Trump signs order to remove tariffs from Brazilian beef, coffee other food items in ~society
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Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
Lyrl Link ParentThe researcher estimated 2-3% of people are aphantic. If tildes had 2,000 active users, then just with the average human distribution that would mean 40-60 aphantic tilderinos. Doesn't require any...The researcher estimated 2-3% of people are aphantic. If tildes had 2,000 active users, then just with the average human distribution that would mean 40-60 aphantic tilderinos. Doesn't require any selection bias.
Interesting multiple people have commented on lack of hallucinations, both in sensory deprivation chambers and from drug stimulus. It might mean aphasics have an advantage in endurance athletic events, where sleep deprivation hallucinations are a common challenge for participants.
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Comment on Some people can't see mental images. The consequences are profound. in ~health.mental
Lyrl Link ParentWaking up in a sweat, especially if it's associated with palpitations and general over-excited feeling, can be an autonomic nervous system weirdness thing. At least, I attribute my experiences...Waking up in a sweat, especially if it's associated with palpitations and general over-excited feeling, can be an autonomic nervous system weirdness thing. At least, I attribute my experiences like that to my dysautonomia. They are never associated with dreams for me, and I am a person who commonly remembers dreams.
If you wanted to try to remember a dream, and live with someone, you could ask them to wake you up while you are dreaming. The eye movement in REM sleep is really obvious. REM is most common towards the end of your normal sleep period, so like half an hour to an hour before you normally wake up would be a good time for your helper to come check if your eyeballs are moving around rapidly, and wake you up if they are.
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Comment on California Forever clears first hurdle in Suisun City annexation in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentHousing doesn't become desirable in a vacuum. Housing becomes desirable when people who live in it can get to jobs from it, food is accessible from it, etc. There are many cheap empty houses in...Housing doesn't become desirable in a vacuum. Housing becomes desirable when people who live in it can get to jobs from it, food is accessible from it, etc. There are many cheap empty houses in rural areas without nearby jobs. In urban areas with plentiful jobs and services, there are fewer houses than people who want to live there.
I don't see how building houses on currently rural land (to make it into a far suburb) addresses the problem of more people wanting to live inside the city (or at least a close suburb) than city housing unit density supports.
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Comment on Communist and far-right candidates head to Chile presidential run-off in ~society
Lyrl LinkDigging a trench to stop Peruvian immigrants sounds like a dystopian platform. But it sounds like polls show it likely to be the winning one.Digging a trench to stop Peruvian immigrants sounds like a dystopian platform. But it sounds like polls show it likely to be the winning one.
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Comment on Who’s making these AI copies of my work? in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentWas that how the dot com bubble shook out? People who hadn't invested in internet-related activity or broadband infrastructure learned a lesson in what was better for society, and now the...Was that how the dot com bubble shook out? People who hadn't invested in internet-related activity or broadband infrastructure learned a lesson in what was better for society, and now the organizations in control of internet infrastructure and consumer access systems are more caring?
I don't remember the dot com bubble aftermath that way, and I can't see the AI bubble aftermath being any more positive. I expect the average person to both get more access to novel useful tools and services, and also be more vulnerable to novel predatory behavior both directly from the corporations that "serve" us and also from scammers taking advantage of lack of corporate and regulatory oversight.
I just profoundly hope the bubble slowly deflates instead of popping and taking our entire economy down with it. It's an order of magnitude larger than the dot com bubble, and all that money doing it's "velocity of money" thing throughout the economy is intertwined into everything now. If it's a pop, we are going to see a contender for "worst ever US recession".
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Comment on US President Donald Trump and EU impose new sanctions on Russia: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’ in ~society
Lyrl Link ParentIt's not like Ukraine can trust Russia if they declare the attacks are over. Russia has broken so many promises, the most reasonable interpretation of a "peace" at the current lines is that Russia...It's not like Ukraine can trust Russia if they declare the attacks are over. Russia has broken so many promises, the most reasonable interpretation of a "peace" at the current lines is that Russia needs a few years to build up an army to blitz the rest of Ukraine.
Given the lack of trust, so that making a peace agreement is just agreeing to be at war in a couple of years, when allies have moved on so it will be even worse than the current horror, any possibility of gaining back their lost territory might seem like a reasonable goal to continue fighting for.
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Comment on US President Donald Trump and EU impose new sanctions on Russia: ‘Now is the time to stop the killing’ in ~society
Lyrl LinkSounds like he's still wanting the peace agreement to be that the behind-line attacks stop on both sides, but Ukraine does not get back any territory currently held by Russian troops....said Trump. “We would like to see them [Russia] just take the line that has been formed over a long period of time and go home.”
Trump did not clarify if this was in reference to a border proposal within Ukraine or a figurative line in terms of a cease-fire agreement.
Sounds like he's still wanting the peace agreement to be that the behind-line attacks stop on both sides, but Ukraine does not get back any territory currently held by Russian troops.
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Comment on The video-game industry has a problem: there are too many games in ~games
Lyrl Link ParentThe YouTube algorithm is doing automated A/B testing, and adjusts following promotion up or down based on response of the test audience (click rate and watch time). A curated list for a longer...The YouTube algorithm is doing automated A/B testing, and adjusts following promotion up or down based on response of the test audience (click rate and watch time). A curated list for a longer form content like a game doesn't get that kind of quick guiding feedback.
It would be neat if something could be worked out that would do similar semi-random promotion that work with a slower feedback loop as people played and reviewed the game.
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Comment on How I reversed Amazon's Kindle web obfuscation because their app sucked in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentThe link is talking about Kindle ebooks specifically. Non-kindle ebooks are much easier to DRM-strip, as kfwyre alludes to with their Kobo-purchased ebooks.The link is talking about Kindle ebooks specifically. Non-kindle ebooks are much easier to DRM-strip, as kfwyre alludes to with their Kobo-purchased ebooks.
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Comment on Asteroid discovered only two days ago will fly by Earth closer than the moon today in ~space
Lyrl Link ParentYeah, that we find so many small ones now (late, because they are smallish) is more a testament to our detection being better than it used to be than evidence we would have such a short heads up...Yeah, that we find so many small ones now (late, because they are smallish) is more a testament to our detection being better than it used to be than evidence we would have such a short heads up for a big one.
Astronomers have spent several decades cataloging asteroids of a threatening size that may be intersecting Earth, and have found no imminent threats to our planets after decades of searching. Indeed, the technology has improved so much that it’s common to find several small asteroids coming close to Earth every month, including one earlier this October that skimmed above us at the altitude of the International Space Station.
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Comment on The genius logic of the NATO phonetic alphabet in ~humanities.languages
Lyrl LinkPersistence at understanding use obstacles and developing, ultimately, a robust and lasting solution is such an inspiring story.Persistence at understanding use obstacles and developing, ultimately, a robust and lasting solution is such an inspiring story.
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Comment on Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what killed more than five billion sea stars in ~enviro
Lyrl Link ParentNebula seems similar to this - it's a subscription to the platform, yes, but there are many independent creators and they get paid based on view time of subscribers, so each video we watch is...Nebula seems similar to this - it's a subscription to the platform, yes, but there are many independent creators and they get paid based on view time of subscribers, so each video we watch is equivalent to a micro-payment to that creator.
Kobo and Kindle "library" subscriptions are kind of similar, too - authors are paid essentially micro-payments based on either pages read or time spent with the book open.
Is there anything similar for text journalism? Like a group Substack subscription? Might be interesting.
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Comment on The spinal surgeries that didn’t need to happen in ~health
Lyrl Link ParentMy father had many months of PT for hip pain, and similarly had increased pain and frequency of muscle spasms in the day after each session, and zero improvement over weeks and months. He had a...My father had many months of PT for hip pain, and similarly had increased pain and frequency of muscle spasms in the day after each session, and zero improvement over weeks and months. He had a hip replacement a few years ago, and that worked great.
My mother in law has had dozens of PT series for many different joint and back pain issues. Her experience has consistently been increased pain without any long term benefit. She knows many people with poor outcomes from surgery and doesn't want that, so she just lives with the foot/knee/back/shoulder/etc. pain.
It's so frustrating to me that physical therapists can have patients for months who make zero progress, and they just tell them to get more sessions instead of identifying that the PT is not helping this particular patient.
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Comment on The spinal surgeries that didn’t need to happen in ~health
Lyrl Link ParentMy sister went through a couple of years of physical therapy (and religiously doing the instructed exercises at home) and several more minor surgeries to try to treat her constant excruciating...My sister went through a couple of years of physical therapy (and religiously doing the instructed exercises at home) and several more minor surgeries to try to treat her constant excruciating back pain because her doctor team (including the surgeon) very strongly believed the fusion risk/benefit did not make sense for a 20 year old. They did the spinal fusion when she was 21. She was in the successful 50%, and is very happy with the outcome even now 20 years later.
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Comment on OpenAI’s H1 2025: $4.3b in income, $13.5b in loss in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentMaybe long payment terms to vendors? I know my employer has some materials they have negotiated 180 day payment terms with. Small startups generally don't have leverage to negotiate those kind of...Maybe long payment terms to vendors? I know my employer has some materials they have negotiated 180 day payment terms with. Small startups generally don't have leverage to negotiate those kind of terms, but these startups are not small.
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Comment on OpenAI’s H1 2025: $4.3b in income, $13.5b in loss in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentI think Apple is working on optimizations with voice-to-voice translation, but on travel YouTube channels it's already common to see them talking with locals through an app (usually...I think Apple is working on optimizations with voice-to-voice translation, but on travel YouTube channels it's already common to see them talking with locals through an app (usually voice-to-text). My mom recently had a car key copied by a person who spoke very little English, and used a translation app. She was satisfied by the experience.
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Comment on OpenAI’s H1 2025: $4.3b in income, $13.5b in loss in ~tech
Lyrl Link ParentI am really looking forward (hoping!) my work (large manufacturing plant) does this for our internal process documentation. It's really helpful if you find the right piece and that piece is up to...I am really looking forward (hoping!) my work (large manufacturing plant) does this for our internal process documentation. It's really helpful if you find the right piece and that piece is up to date, but both finding and updating are questionable, and I believe an LLM could help.
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Comment on US solar will pass wind in 2025 and leave coal in the dust soon after in ~enviro
Lyrl Link ParentPower companies can manage not having to grow supply, or even getting extra reserve capacity, without too much stress. What gets closer to "terrifying" them is the maintenance costs of the...Power companies can manage not having to grow supply, or even getting extra reserve capacity, without too much stress. What gets closer to "terrifying" them is the maintenance costs of the transport system. Transformers blow and have to be replaced, trees grow in ways that are likely to take out power lines and have to be trimmed, storms and other disaster events require significant repairs, etc. Traditionally these costs were covered by skimming a bit from the per-watt delivery charges, but that breaks down if significant households have near net zero consumption. Then you start getting a need for connection fees, which are a big adjustment for people.
Decentralized solar is also less efficient. There are economies of scale in panel installation and maintenance that make a solar farm generated watt cost less than a residential rooftop generated watt. Certain houses make sense for rooftop solar, but it's also common for the math of a particular house to not make sense for solar.
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Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news
Lyrl (edited )Link ParentThe planet will continue for billions of years (7 billion before the Sun swallows Earth in its red giant phase), but complex life likely has only 600 million years, which is unlikely to produce...The planet will continue for billions of years (7 billion before the Sun swallows Earth in its red giant phase), but complex life likely has only 600 million years, which is unlikely to produce another civilization-capable species.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_Earth
When the Sun first became a main sequence star, it radiated only 70% of the current luminosity. The luminosity has increased in a nearly linear fashion to the present, rising by 1% every 110 million years. Likewise, in three billion years the Sun is expected to be 33% more luminous.
The rate of weathering of silicate minerals will increase as rising temperatures speed chemical processes up. This, in turn, will decrease the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as reactions with silicate minerals convert carbon dioxide gas into solid carbonates. Within the next 600 million years from the present, the concentration of carbon dioxide will fall below the critical threshold needed to sustain C3 photosynthesis: about 50 parts per million. At this point, trees and forests in their current forms will no longer be able to survive.
I work in manufacturing, and during the post-Covid demand surge we had to no-quote way more customers than normal due to lack of capacity. Raising prices significantly reduced the number of quote requests so the no-quote volume became more manageable. Yes, corporate got more profits, but it let customers self-select of who really needed our product enough to justify a slice of what we were physically able to produce.
Other rationing systems exist, but if demand truly outstrips supply usually letting price be the short-term ration method is reasonable. Long-term there is desperate need for better regulation to drive up-front investment for long-term societal benefit. But focusing on short term price "greedflation" actually takes energy away from understanding the underlying driving forces and implementing helpful long-term incentives.